A cruel knowledge

Snooping behind the scenes of the equestrian world and at the management of equines, both feral and domestic, is like opening Pandora’s box. It’s digging into layer after layer of horror and sadness, of welfare issues, of tragedies, both animal and human. It’s acquiring a knowledge you wish you didn’t have. A knowledge that makes everything different. And you can never look at horses in the same way again. 

Take wild/feral horses for instance. What springs to mind when you think of them? The idyllic image of mares grazing, of foals playing together, of a long-maned stallion gazing at his surroundings, watching for danger? An impression of beauty, of freedom? Not when you know what happens to them, whether in America, in Australia or even in England. Unwanted foals being slaughtered. Whole herds being culled. Barbaric practices, in answer to the problems raised by overbreeding or by diminishing grazing resources. Problems raised, more often by not, by human mistakes. 

In my personal case, I’m horrified enough to know the fate that befalls brumbies and mustangs. But, in a way, it’s even worse when it concerns horses not in America and in Australia but closer to home. When it concerns the feral horses I’ve watched for hours over the years, playing, interacting with each other. Living. Horses I know as individuals, each with their own personality. Horses I’ve come to love, for what they are and what they represent. And being aware of the fate that awaits them is a cruel knowledge. I wish I had not obtained it, especially since it comes with the realisation that there’s absolutely nothing I can do. 

You might be wondering now what exactly I’m talking about. Well, it’s a complicated and convoluted business, involving many people trying to deal with a big problem they’re not necessarily responsible for. One day, maybe, probably, I’ll write something about it. But right now there are too many implications. It’s not all about the horses. It’s about a way of life, it’s about tradition, it’s about people’s livelihood. And I feel powerless and heartbroken. Probably like the hundreds of people who know and who cannot do anything, through lack of means, conviction, strength… 

It’s easier to turn our eyes away, from the horror, from the suffering. It’s easier to pretend to ourselves that what we know doesn’t really happen. Just like it’s easier to tell ourselves that the horses that evolve at liberty in shows and spectacles have not be coerced into accomplishing their tricks. That riding school horses will spend their retirement in green fields. That retired racehorses will find loving homes. 

The more I try to see what happens behind the scenes in the world of horses and men, the more I realise that it’s rotten to the core. There’s so much that’s wrong. And though it’s a simplification, I believe that many of the welfare issues boil down to the overbreeding of horses. 

There are too many horses and not enough people to give them caring homes. There are too many horses, and this leads to problems that go from the neglect of domestic equines to the culling of feral ones, to the slaughter of “useless” horses – racehorses that cannot compete anymore, riding horses that cannot be ridden, etc. etc. 

And, in a way, every horse lover, every horse owner, every rider unwittingly contributes to the problem. We ride, we buy horses, we take lessons, we buy tack, we go to shows… We create a need for rideable horses – excluding wounded, elderly or behaviourally unstable ones. We contribute to an economy for which animal welfare is not always a priority. Even the rescuing of equines is a double edged sword. The example of American kill-pens is quite telling: “saving” a horse from a kill-pen just gives money for the owner to buy more horses that will end up being slaughtered for meat. In that case, rescuing one horse condemns maybe ten others. 

The overbreeding concerns both feral and domestic equines. Feral populations often escape human control, due to an inability – or a lack of desire – to limit their numbers through humane solutions such as the castration of stallions or the spaying of mares or the use of contraceptive medicine. As for domestic horses, their numbers are fed by industries such as the racing one and also by individuals who think it is a good idea to breed their mare or who, for one reason or another, refuse to geld their colt. 

In the world we live in, no horse is truly safe from slaughter. And it seems an impossible mission for an individual to change things. Some people do manage to make their voice heard. Some people have the courage to fight. Some people make it their life mission. 

Yet it is difficult to decide what to do and where to start. It can be impossible to decide what to do with the cruel knowledge that has been acquired. Because everything is always so much more complicated than it appears at first sight. Or maybe it is not so complicated and all boils down to the choices that have to be made.